One More Flower and an FO

This week's Steady Thread SAL flower is the crocus. I got it all stitched during my Monday morning stitching group Zoom chat. I copied someone's idea to use two different colour for the flowers. 

I also found a 'G' that would work for my Queen Bee Pincushion project. it was 11 sts high so I just elongated it a couple of sts to 13 and it fit perfectly.

I'm thinking of doing an embroidery hoop finish using lots of batting to puff it up a bit. This was a quick and easy stitch. 

I did a bit of stitching on Newcastle Bouquet but mostly have been knitting hexagons. I've got 13 done and realize I probably need to knit at least 64 of them. I will use as much of my stash yarn as I can once I run out of Noro Silk Garden. 

Another Stashbuster and an IKEA Hack

I have several random balls of Boku and Noro Silk Garden yarn in my vast stash. I had hoped to make a cardigan but would have needed to buy more yarn and I didn't have my heart set on a pattern. A couple of days ago I saw an ad for the upcoming Noro Magazine #19 Fall/Winter 2021 and was intrigued by the hexagon blanket.

I tried finding a way to purchase a digital copy with no success. It may not have even been released yet in print. I then was determined to reverse engineering it and did a Ravelry search for hexagons that I could use as a basis for my own version. This hexie pillow pattern was the most helpful.

I tried a sample and decided I needed to cast on 20 sts and increase to 40 then decrease back to 20. It worked really well so while binge-watching DVDs of Season 1 of BBCs 'Unforgotten' that I borrowed from the library (I have season 2 on hold), I knit 4 of these 'hexies' with the colourful Boku yarn. My hexies are 8" wide and 7" high.

I was going to knit strips of them as are done in the pillow pattern but decided to knit individual hexies instead and seam them together once the knitting is done. 

Plymouth Boku yarn is 95% wool and 5% silk. It feels really nice and I love the saturated colourways. I knit a striped, ribbed scarf with two colourways of this many years ago. 

The Silk Garden colourways I have are quite drab but I'll work out the colour arrangement of the hexies once I get them ready to lay out.

I learned about a cool, wooden, lidded box from IKEA that would be great for mounting a stitched piece. It's called MALLGRODA and is  9 3/4" in diameter.

The inside could also have a stitched bottom and some kind of finishing on the sides. A wood stain and/or varathane would also be a nice way to finish it. I'm going to do some more research on IKEA hacks for mounting stitchery. 

Our closest IKEA store/warehouse is 44km away in The Big City. I sure wish they'd build an IKEA out here in the eastern GTA. For a couple of years we had an IKEA outlet where we could order stuff and have it delivered there for pickup. I used to love buying their cinnamon rolls, Swedish meatballs, gravy, and lingonberry sauce. Unfortunately a couple of years ago the decision was made to close all the IKEA outlets so now we either have to order online or make the trek to the nearest IKEA warehouse store.

I Actually Finished a Handspun Project!

I have been spinning off and on for about 12 years. I even am a founding member of a local spinning group that still meets on Tuesday nights after about 10 years - now via Zoom if we can't meet in person.

I started this linen stitch scarf with a ball of my handspun ages ago - so long ago I don't even remember when. The fibre could be hand-dyed merino or some other soft, small-micron wool and it's nice against the skin.

I finally finished it and got the fringes twisted during my Zoom get-togethers last night and this afteroon.

The 'knit' side.

The purl side.

Now I need to twist the fringes of my green Koigu scarf and get it finished. I used these three colourways.

Hazel's Halloween Friends

Yesterday, Teresa Kogut posted the video of her releases for Needlework Expo.  The Halloween piece I stitched for her can finally be revealed. It's called Hazel's Halloween Friends. It measures 5" x 4" and was a fairly quick stitch.

She released a total of 9 patterns - 2 for punch needle and 7 for cross stitch. I'm definitely going to stitch another one of these for myself.

Ribbed Helix Socks, in Search of a Good 'G', and a Cool FFO Idea.

I started another pair of helix socks. This time, I doing 2 x 2 ribbing on the leg. 

Instead of an afterthought heel, I used a Fish Lips Kiss (FLK) heel. It's a short row heel that doesn't leave any holes and is pretty easy to do. It was devised by the Sox Therapist and the pattern only costs $1US. The pattern is actually a method for creating a permanent sock template to fit a particular foot, much like the late Cat Bordhi's Insouciant Sock pattern. Finally on pages 9 and 10 of the 16 page document are the instructions for the heel.

I'm using black for the cuffs, heels, and toes with the multicoloured yarn contrasting with a charcoal for the helix patterns. 

There are long stretches of colour in the multi yarn so the second sock will look quite different from the first sock but have matching charcoal stripes and black cuffs, heels, and toes.

I also finished all the stitching on the Queen Bee Sampler except for my initial in the centre of the star. I don't like the one in the alphabet provided so am looking for another 'G' that will fit in the 15 x 15 area - preferably 13 x 13 or a bit less. I like how the bee's wings were designed. Oops! I just noticed I need to do the 6 stitches of the opening of the bee skep.

The Needlework Expo is coming this weekend. I need to have a look at all the offerings to see what I want to order.

For starters, I really like Hello from Liz Mathews' 'Token of Fall'. The blue is a hand-dyed silk floss. I've been wanting to do some stitching with silks so this project would fit the bill.

I'll be spending some time over the next couple of days looking at the new releases.

While browsing the other releases I noticed a very interesting and easy way to finish a pincushion. It is inspired by Hands On Design.

Just use an embroidery hoop! They are very inexpensive, widely available, come in many sizes and  could be stained to any colour. The back can be finished with craft paper, scrapbook paper or fabric once the stitched piece has been inserted. What a great idea.

Soothing Myself

I started a new, little stitching project. It's something I've had kitted up for a while. It's the Heartstring Samplery "Queen Bee Pincushion".

The pattern calls for a mixture of DMC, Classic Colorworks, and Weeks Dye Works threads. I'm using the called-for threads I have in my stash and supplementing with DMC equivalents. The linen is 36ct R&R Weathered Shingle.

Beth (Twist - the creative brain behind Heartstring Samplery) provided DMC equivalents for all the hand-dyed threads in the pattern - very convenient.

I am really bad at tackling piles of stuff in my office. I chip away at little areas. As Skip would say, I am just 'transferring the lint ball from one pocket to another'. However I did grab my linen stitch project a couple of weeks ago that had been sitting on my desk for months, and have been working on it whilst watching our daily regimen of YouTube videos. 

How it sat on my desk for months...

I am using a big ball of my handspun and it should be just enough to complete the project. Lord knows I need another linen stitch scarf. I did misplace my favourite one knit from 3 colourways of  Koigu fingering yard and have another in greens all knit with just the fringe to twist. But I digress.

Linen stitch yields a very nice texture that almost looks like it was woven. This is the knit side.

The purl side is a very nice texture as well. As such, the scarf is reversible.

All those slubs near the bottom are inconsistencies in my spinning. I am an enthusiastic spinner but not as accomplished as others of my spinning friends.

I got last Friday's Blackwork SAL done this week. It is nigella - a flower that I had to Google to see what colours it came in. I did use the DMC colours suggested by someone else in the Facebook group. 

Earlier this week I made a batch of 'yard sauce' - roasted tomato sauce from the tomatoes from Skip's garden. Since it has been so hot this week, I didn't want to heat up the oven/kitchen/house for over an hour so I roasted it on the barbecue. The neighbourhood smelled great.

It's really yummy when the onions start to carmelize.

The tray is a cheap, disposable, catering tray from the Wholesale Club. When I drizzle the olive oil in the pan, I smear it all over the bottom and a couple of inches up the sides. After everything is roasted and I've emptied the pan, it cleans up very easily.

The original recipe is from Priscilla on FlossTube. In her family they call it yard sauce. One great thing about his recipe is not having to peel the tomatoes before roasting. Just quarter them. The skins will get chopped up in the blender after the roasting is done. You can also roast other veggies with the tomatoes and sneak them into your family's meals. This tomato sauce can be put in soups, reduced for pizza sauce, used as a basic pasta sauce, or the basis of any other recipe using tomatoes.

This batch yielded 4 bags of the sauce - approximately 2.5c of sauce in each. They lie flat in the freezer. More tomatoes are ripening so I'll be doing another batch soon.

Teresa gave a sneak peek of the little Halloween piece I stitched for her and that arrived back to her in the mail last week. I think she wants to release it for the Needlework Expo next week.

On Wednesday evening, we received word that the 27 year-old daughter of one of our friends was killed in a hit and run accident while she was visiting a friend in Chicago. She and the friend were walking down the street in Wrigleyville when a car that was being driven erratically hopped the curb and crashed into them, killing Sophie instantly and injuring her friend. The occupants of the vehicle then took off on foot and as yet have not been apprehended. Hopefully with the aid of videos and tips from people in the area, the murderers will be caught soon. By the way the car was being operated, alcohol/drugs were likely to have been involved.

Sophie Elizabeth Allen was diagnosed with breast cancer last October and had just completed treatment which involved chemotherapy, radiation, surgery for double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and radiation in May. She was looking forward to getting married next summer and was a few years into a very successful corporate career after graduating from Duke University in 2016.

Skip and I had met Sophie on a couple of occasions while visiting her parents when she was 4 or 5 in Raleigh NC and again 10 years ago when she was a senior in high school. Through her dad we have followed her schooling, career, and life with great interest. On our first visit, her dad, Nick, Sophie, Skip and I attended a Durham Bulls baseball game. Sophie gustily sang, "Take me out to the ball game" during the 7th inning stretch. Such a bright, precocious little girl. 

The shock of this loss of such a young, beautiful vibrant person really hit us hard. Partly because our own boy is the same age as Sophie, she had survived such a horrendous health crisis this past year, her life and future was just snuffed out, and possibly because I lost my brother when he was about that age and lately have been feeling that loss and wondering what our lives would have been like had he been a healthy survivor of juvenile diabetes. I cannot even imagine how her loved ones are coping with this shattering loss.

Thursday I didn't do much of anything. I think I was just numb. Yesterday I was able to run a couple of errands. But for a while, a cloak of sadness has covered our home.

Hug your loved ones and tell them you love them. Don't put important things off. Our lives can change in an instant. Carpe diem.

Basil Pucks

I don't remember where I learned this technique for preserving fresh basil for use all year round but I tried it for the first time last summer and it worked great. We grew 3 huge basil plants this year and I've already harvested a big batch.

Yesterday Skip brought in most of the rest of the basil. I got to work processing it.

First, remove all the leaves from the stems, rinse, and dry.

Fill the food processor with the leaves. Begin processing while drizzling about 2 Tbsp of olive oil down the tube.

The bottom will process quickly. Push the top leaves down the side and continue processing until it's chopped up but not pureed.

Press tablespoon-loads into mini muffin tins or ice cube trays. 

Freeze. Then pop out of the molds, put in freezer bags and store for use throughout the rest of the year. Some folks just make a big sheet of the basil and freeze it in a freezer bag, then break off a piece as needed.

Whenever a recipe calls for fresh basil use one of the 'pucks' or part of one. They're great in pasta sauces, soups, and any recipe calling for fresh basil.

Blackwork StitchALong Update - Week 32

I completed this week's flower in the Steady Thread Blackwork SAL. It was a very quick stitch because it was a smaller block and only one colour. DMC 552. Wild Garlic is in the centre diamond.

I'm itching to do more blackwork. Peppermint Purple and Steady Thread have some intriguing charts.
 

Really Scrappy Helix Socks

I knit another pair of helix socks. I ran out of the dark colour so used scraps of other dark, leftover yarns. 

The lighter colour is from the same ball of KnitPicks Chroma sock yarn in the Lollipop colourway (now discontinued).

Had I used the same yarn for the heels and toes, I could have made them look more like a fraternal twin pair like these.

But I didn't, so they don't. People with OCD should just scroll on by.

There are some lovely things in the garden lately. The echinacea are past their most beautiful stage but the bees are still loving them.

Many of them have pollen stuck to their hind legs.

The butterfly bush is also very popular with butterflies. This is a mourning cloak. Pretty drab closed up.

Quite striking opened up.

Beyond monarchs and red admirals, I'm not very knowledgeable about butterfly species. I have to look them up all the time. It often involves going page by page through my butterfly guide.

Monarch larvae feed exclusively on milkweed leaves but the adults like the nectar from many bright flowers. Red admirals are frequent visitors.

Skip is growing beautiful zinnias again. This one is almost perfect. I love the ring of star-shaped pollen florets ( I had to Google that ). He grew them from seed again this year and they're spectacular.

A little opossum was crouched down in our garden. He didn't run away until I was almost right up to him. These guys eat tons of ticks, bug, etc. We're very glad to have them.

I just got a news flash that Gov. Cuomo has resigned. I am so annoyed that in this day and age - 40 years after awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment was publicized very widely - superiors (usually men) are still imposing themselves on people in the workplace (usually women) and elsewhere. Cuomo was so 'presidential' during the first couple of waves of COVID. He would have been a formidable candidate for president in 2024 but no, he had to go and let his groin direct his actions. And now he's a pariah. Disgusting.

Haven't Picked This Up In A While

I needed to grab something the other day to take to the park to stitch. A lot of my projects are finished or at a spot where I needed more concentration than I could muster whilst stitching socially. I did a bit of work on my Newcastle Bouquet which I abandoned quite a while ago.

This is my second attempt at this piece. The first one got started too far to one side and I ran out of fabric before reaching the border. In this re-start, I haven't completed the border. I just plug away on parts that I don't have to count in social situations. I think I'm going to outline the white blossoms just to make them pop a bit. I now wish I had used the called-for hand-dyed floss for the red in the bird's breast. The other red is hand-dyed (Cayenne). 

I can't just sit and watch TV - I have to be doing something with my hands. I also went back to this linen stitch scarf project that has been sitting on my desk for months. I'm using my handspun. I think I cast on 350 sts to knit this lengthwise scarf, leaving a long fringe at each end which I'll twirl into a nice fringe when the knitting is done.

My spun yarn isn't the most consistent but will make a nice, cozy scarf if I ever finish it.

Upon request, I made another Beauty and the Beast cross stitch clutch. I had to fussy cut quite carefully as there wasn't much fabric left but it worked out OK.

I need to add the zipper pull.

Yesterday I whipped up a knitting project bag. 

The pattern name is 'grab bag' but because of its shape when you tuck the long handle into the short one, I call it a 'dumpling' bag. These are so handy when knitting while standing in line, on public transit, or in a car. Just put your hand through the long loop and your yarn is contained yet you can still knit and there's nothing to catch your yarn on,

For once, I didn't make a bunch of mistakes that I had to fix for this. 

Skip and I actually ate dinner indoors at a restaurant on Friday. We hadn't been to our local Mexican place since January 2020. I do love ordering adult beverages and being served a nice meal. And then walking away without having to clean up afterwards.

That being said, I made chimichurri sauce yesterday for the first time. I had it the first time while visiting friends in San Antonio 3 years ago. Authentic chimichurri sauce from Argentina or Uruguay doesn't use cilantro but I love cilantro so made mine with both flat leaf parsley and cilantro. I also used fresh oregano from the garden. I went a little heavy on the garlic (note to self) but the resulting sauce was delicious. It keeps for about a week in the fridge and a month or so in the freezer. 

Chimichurri sauce can be used as a marinade or as a sauce with cooked meat. It would also be good with grilled veggies. I'd even put it on hamburgers.

We have a lot of basil ready in the garden again so I'll be making 'basil pucks' again soon. Right now Skip is making 'kale pucks' using a regular sized muffin tin to shape them. He'll use the kale in soups and other dishes in the winter. I don't like the taste of kale and and don't like the smell of it cooking. I usually only eat it if the taste is overpowered by another flavour. 

August 9 is a date I always remember. My mother died on that date 60 years ago and her mother died on the same date 55 years ago. I was just a little girl when my mother died. Because she had been ill and in hospital a lot of the last two years of her life (children weren't allowed in hospitals back then), I really don't have a lot of memories of direct contact with her. I do remember visiting her in hospital. I also recall her putting rouge on my cheeks for my rhythm band performance in the local music festival when I was in Grade 2. I also remember her combing my hair before my Grade 2 school photo.

This is one of the last photos of my mother, older siblings and myself about the time she was diagnosed with cancer.